The Unraveling of Time
by danahscott
Summary: Amy, Rory, and an impossible task. Two teenagers in love. But what if - what if that love meant the end of the universe? What if it meant the unraveling of time itself? Why doesn't time like Maya? And how can Amy and Rory bear to right things with the universe when they know what it means for Maya and Lucas?
1. Chapter 1

"Doctor!" Amy called out, plodding town the TARDIS stairs, Rory a few steps behind her. The control room was empty, no Doctor flying about. Amy didn't notice the TARDIS' ominous hum.

"That's weird," Rory muttered. "He never sleeps."

"Doctor?" Amy shouted, letting out a breath of relief when she heard the clicking of his shoes as he came up from underneath the console.

"I'm here," he said to them, mumbling soothing words to the TARDIS.

"So," Amy started with a slight smile, "what planet needs slaving today? Nebulon 5, or maybe Astreyrus?" Amy smile slid off as she saw the Doctor looking at her, eyes big and sad, a look she had grown accustomed to, but never _before_ an adventure. "What? What is it?"

"No planet saving today, sorry," he said, turning away and slamming down a lever as the TARDIS dematerialized seamlessly, no jolts this time. "Today, we take care of something… terrible, just terrible," he paused. "I can drop you two at home if you want."

"No," Amy said, immediately. "We're with you no matter what. Right, Rory?"

"Uh, right," Rory said after Amy shot him a look. "But, Doctor," he said, "what exactly are we doing?"

"You know how there are fixed points in time?" Amy and Rory nodded. "Well, those are things that must always happen. But then, there are things that must _never_ happen. And a force from another universe is making sure that one of those things does happen."

"Okay," Amy said, warily venturing a question. "And what happens if they succeed?"

"Time itself unravels." Amy and Rory shared a meaningful look as the impact of everything this would mean sinks in. "But," the Doctor continued, "this event is different. There's something very wrong with it. It has the qualities of an event in flux - my best guess is that the other universe isn't as strong as they need to be."

"Doctor, what _is_ this event?" The Doctor looked at them for a moment and then pulled up the TARDIS screen.

"They're kids, they're just kids." On the screen was a picture of two teenagers smiling together, both blonde. A boy and a girl. "They can never be together. That's the event. Even if they fall in love, they must not be together. Whatever the cost or else everything ends."

"I don't get it. How are we supposed to fix this?" Rory asked.

"Like I said, this event is different. There are different timelines of their relationship almost intertwined with each other. We can visit them, but we have to be careful. And we can't get attached. Their story… always ends in tragedy."

\- :: - :: - :: - :: - :: - :: - :: - :: - :: - :: - :: - :: - :: -

"So, Doctor, what does this subway have to do with anything?" Amy said, scrunching her nose in disgust.

"This is where they meet." Then, his voice at a whisper, "there they are. There's Lucas," he said, pointing to the boy sitting in the corner seat, "and there's Maya," pointing to a blonde girl holding the railing.

"But they're so young," Amy whispered.

"It's not until they're sixteen that we have to worry." They watched as Maya walked over to Lucas, sitting down next to him and then getting up a second later.

"They're kind of cute," Rory said, head tilted to the right, a nostalgic smile on his face. He always was the romantic.

"Remember what I said Rory," the Doctor warned. "You know how this ends." Amy looked closely as the brunette girl Maya was standing with fell into Lucas' lap.

"Who's _that_?" Amy asked, laughing.

"That's Riley, Maya's best friend."

"And does she end up with him in the way it's supposed to be?" Rory asked.

"No, she ends up with another boy. Farkle." Amy raised an eyebrow. "I know. Weird name. But it's a fixed point. In every reality, she ends up with him. No changing that." Amy glanced over at Rory. A slow smile was sliding onto his face. She was starting to wonder if they should have actually gone home for the day. She knew how Rory was, and she knew this might be hard for him.

"Doctor, how are Maya and Lucas supposed to end up?" Rory asked. Amy looked over at him sharply, almost fearing the answer. Without the Doctor's usual excitement, everything seemed a lot worse than usual, and Amy was starting to get a feeling of uneasiness she had never felt before.

"Well, Lucas ends up alone. He's still friends with Riley and Farkle, but he never married."

"And Maya?" The Doctor glanced at Amy and looked away just as quickly.

"Maya dies young. It always happens."

"You mean it's fixed?"

"No, it's not. I can't understand what's so different about those two. It's as if time doesn't _like_ them."

"So we can change her death?"

"If it's even possible, we will certainly try." The subway slowed to a stop, and Amy's stomach lurched with it. "Come on, back to the TARDIS."

"Doctor," Amy said, holding her stomach as she stepped inside the console room, "I'm not feeling too hot."

"Yeah, I'm getting that, too," Rory said, glancing over at her.

"Right, forgot. You two are time travellers now. This point in time is very unstable, and your bodies are resisting it. It should be better once we get there."

"Where are we going now?" Rory asked him.

"Where everything ends. We will be able to see the alternate timelines, and this is the first one. I have absolutely no idea how this is going to play out." Amy grabbed for Rory's hand, intertwining her fingers with his, taking a deep breath and stepping out.

They were in the woods. It was a sunny day, the air smelled crisp and clean and the uneasiness in Amy's stomach vanished. She supposed it had accepted the inevitable. The Doctor mumbled directions to them, pulling them towards him and halting to a quick stop. "Here they are," he breathed.

Amy saw that they were holding hands too, and she immediately dropped Rory's. Amy pulled the three of them down, peering out between the leaves of a pine tree.

"Lucas, are you sure about this?" Maya asked, him looking down.

"Maya, I have always been sure about you," he whispered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, as she let out a little laugh.

"That's a lie and you know it. Don't you remember freshman year?" He flicked his eyes up towards the sky, with a slight shake of his head, breathing out a laugh.

"Don't remind me. In my defense -" she hit him, " _in my defense_ … No, I got nothing." He pulled her in for a kiss, her laughing against his mouth.

"You're cute. You got that."

"I don't know how I didn't see it before, Maya. It's you. Of _course_ it's you." Maya tossed her head back in a laugh, rolling her eyes.

"Enough with the cornball speeches and kiss me, huckleberry." Lucas tipped a fake hat, pulling her close to him.

"Yes, ma'am." Somehow, Rory's hand had found Amy's again, and as the ground lurched he squeezed it tighter. Everything trembled and shook, like it was being ripped apart. Which, in retrospect, it probably was.

"It's starting!" The Doctor whispered, frantically. With a violent surge forward, Amy was thrown to the ground, letting out a scream and causing Rory to shout her name. She looked up, through the trees again, to see Lucas and Maya holding tight to each other, and as soon as it started, everything stopped. But Lucas was looking around wildly.

"Did you hear that?" He said. Amy cussed under her breath.

"Lucas," Maya said.

"Somebody's out there," he cried.

" _Lucas_."

"Who's there?" He shouted.

"Lucas," she said a final time, and Amy and Lucas simultaneously looked towards her. It was like it happened in slow motion. Maya's knees folded out from under her as she crumpled to the ground, hitting it with a heavy thump.

In an instant, Lucas was at her side, hand finding hers and holding it tight. She took a wheezing breath.

"Maya, how can I help you? Maya!" He cried, urgently. Her eyes darted around wildly, trying to find something to hold on. She took her hand, the one Lucas wasn't holding, and held it to the side of his face, fingers trembling. She squeezed her eyes shut - in pain, Amy guessed - took three more empty breaths, and then stopped all together.

"Maya," Lucas breathed, eyes widening. He dropped her hand, reaching for her neck and cradling her head in his hand, checking for a pulse. "No, please," he whispered, trying her wrist. "Please."

She was dead? Amy scrambled to her feet, looking at the Doctor. "We have to help her," she urged. "There's got to be _some_ thing we can do, please." The Doctor shifted his eyes toward her, head still pointed toward the ground.

"I told you not to get attached, Amy."

"What _happened_ to her, though?" She asked, unable to tear her eyes away from Lucas clutching Maya's body. "She's just a kid." The Doctor furrowed his eyebrows, thinking, until recognition flickered in his eyes, but fear too. The ground lurched again, harder than before.

"I told you, Amy, time doesn't like them. But I think it especially doesn't like her. That's why she dies young, and her body must have sensed what was happening. Her body sensed this was happening. It was trying to stop time from unraveling. That's why the ground stopped shaking. That's why things were still, but it's too late. It's happening _now_ ," he yelled.

"Um, guys," Rory said, looking at Lucas who was now looking directly at them. His face was drained of color and his eyes were red and watery. He still held Maya's hand. Amy took a step forward.

"Amy, no," the Doctor said. She ignored him, stepping into the clearing. Lucas flinched, crawling backwards, looking wildly about at the trees beginning to collapse. Amy took another step towards him. As if realizing something he reached forward and grabbed Maya's body, clutching her to him.

"You can't touch her! I won't let you," he screamed, pressing her face tightly to his torso. Amy could hear the Doctor and Rory calling her name.

"Lucas, we can't help her. We have to go, now," he looked up, slightly confused.

"I'm not leaving Maya," he insisted.

"There's nothing we can do for her now!" Amy felt the Doctor tugging on her arm pulling her back. She resisted, fighting against him, trying to push him away.

"Amy, we can't take him with us," he said, shouting over the roar of the wind.

"But we can't leave him! He's a kid! He's only seventeen, please!" She begged with the Doctor who now had his entire body thrown against her, trying to hold her back. She was fighting against him, reaching towards Lucas, who was still holding Maya, bewildered.

"Rory!" The Doctor called for help, and in an instant, Rory was at her side, putting his arm around her, too, and together, they pulled her off her feet and away.

"Get off me! He's only a kid, you have to- please!" They ignored her cries, pulling her farther and farther away. She looked back at him one more time. He was cowering. The entire ground was trembling violently and he was cowering in fear as a heavy oak tree fell down ten feet away from him. He buried his face into the crook of Maya's neck, and with a mighty roar, the sky began to rip apart. She only saw the first tear before the Doctor pulled her into the TARDIS, slammed a lever down and took off. Amy stood frozen for a second, and then she started to gasp, shoulders racked with sobs.

Instantly, Rory grabbed her and pulled her to him, burying her face in his shoulder, not unlike Lucas did with Maya just seconds ago. "They're children," she kept sobbing, "just kids."


	2. Chapter 2

p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"An hour had passed since they left the forest. Amy was seated at the bottom of the TARDIS stairs, her head leaning against the railing. Rory was next to her, silent, hand rubbing soothing circles around the small of her back./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Amy? Rory? Do you mind if I-?" The Doctor gestured to the stairs, so Rory slid over, letting the Doctor sandwich himself in between the two of them. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Would you like to go home?" Amy looked up at him, surprised by his bluntness. She looked over at Rory who gave a slight shrug as if to say, "/spanspan style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"it's up to you/spanspan style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I don't know." She paused. "What happened to Lucas when we left?" /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Right. Well, that version of him is gone now. That timeline is erased. Why do you think we're still alive if time ripped apart? When we left, we destroyed the timeline." Amy blinked a few times, letting the information settle into her brain. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""If there's any possibility of changing it, then I'm staying," Amy said, more confidently than she felt./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Okay, then." The Doctor said, a sad smile flickering onto his face and then vanishing just as soon. "Are you ready for the next timeline?" Though she really wasn't, she nodded. So the Doctor got up and flipped a few levers and they had landed again. "It's the same place, same time, different timeline. We have to be ready to run back to the TARDIS." /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"They slipped out of the TARDIS, hiding under the same trees, by the same clearing. "Don't you remember freshman year?" She could hear Maya say, but Amy didn't even hear anything else they said. She just looked at Maya and Lucas, glowing together, laughing, happy and so alive. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The earth shook again, but this time Maya stayed upright and the ground didn't stop. "Lucas!" She screamed, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt, and holding them so tight her knuckles turned white. "What's going on?" Lucas said nothing, just held her close, eyes tightly shut. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""TARDIS! Now! There's something very wrong with this timeline!" The Doctor shouted, barely audible over the noise. Amy stepped out again, despite every reason in the universe not to. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Come with me!" She cried, grabbing Maya's hand. She heard two pairs of footsteps running behind her, and in the blink of an eye, they were back in the TARDIS, the ground still rumbling. The silence was a stark contrast to the tremors outside. Maya stood there frozen for a minute, then looked wildly about her before trying to make a break for the door, only caught by Amy. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Lucas! He's still out there! You have to let me go!" Amy held Maya out at arm's length, scanning her up and down as the girl fought against her. Maya was alive and Amy was determined to keep it that way. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'll go." Amy said, turning around and slamming the door behind her. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""No!" Rory made a blind dash towards the exit, but the Doctor threw his arms around him, restraining him. "Let me go!" Rory cried, trying to throw everything he had in him, writhing around. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Rory, I'm not losing you both." And then, after an unsure pause, "She'll be back." Rory let himself be lowered to the hard metal floor of the TARDIS, taking deep, shaky breaths, hands pressed against the floor. Neither of them even acknowledged Maya's presence. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Outside, Amy was running, barely dodging falling trees. She stumbled, rolling on the ground, and then back up again, up and running, still running. She got to the clearing, and there was Lucas, curled into a ball, hands over his ears, taking big, heaving, terrified sobs. She didn't even say anything to him, she just grabbed him and he let himself be led like a dog on a leash. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She didn't think she'd ever been happier to see the TARDIS. They were in the home stretch, as a tall large oak began to fall. Amy shoved Lucas, sending them both toppling to the ground. She smashed her head against a rock, but she ignored it and kept going. She stood up, feeling instantly dizzy, her vision weaving in and out of black, but she hurried Lucas to his feet, too, teardrops falling on her hand. With the last of the energy remaining in her, she pushed open the TARDIS doors. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"As soon as she was in the Doctor's line of sight, he pulled a lever and they were gone. The TARDIS stabilized, and they were all happy to be standing on solid ground. Amy stumbled over to Rory, who was only just then pushing himself to his feet. She collapsed against him, knees folding inwards, noises blurring together. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""She's hurt!" He cried, looking at the side of her head, which now had thick, hot blood dripping down onto his shirt. He lifted her up as she shut her eyes, trying to reel in the pain now that the adrenaline had left her. He was telling her to breathe, yelling at the Doctor that she'd gone into shock, and saying that they needed to get her to the med bay, as she felt Rory's feet bouncing as he carried her away. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"Nobody noticed Maya staring at Lucas, overwhelmed with the enormity of the TARDIS and trying to comprehend what just happened. Nobody noticed the last of his tears cease as she buried her face into his shirt, sharp gasps coming from her as he stroked her hair. Nobody except the Doctor. He gave them a look, feeling the ominous hum of the TARDIS grow, and, stroking the console, he muttered, "don't worry, old girl, they'll be gone soon," and went to help Amy./p 


	3. Chapter 3

"Is she conscious?" The Doctor asked Rory, rushing into the med bay. Rory held a white cloth to the side of Amy's head, blood already seeping through.

"Unfortunately," Amy answered with a small, painful smile. Rory barely looked up as the Doctor busied himself around him. His face was frozen in a worried expression, creases lining his forehead, eyebrows furrowed. A beaker smashed to the ground, glass shattering, causing Rory to finally tear his eyes away from Amy to the Doctor, who hadn't let the accident slow him down.

"Doctor, _what_ are you looking for?" Rory said, sharply. The clattering of glasses banging next to each other sounded a few more times before the Doctor steadily pulled out a long thin vial, filled with a bubbling purple substance.

"This is very rare, it's from the sap of a tree on Glodelia. She has a severe concussion." Amy stirred upon hearing that. "The kind that takes months to heal, but with two drops of this, she'll be fine in two hours. We'll have to be careful, though. Any more than two drops and - we'll just have to be careful." The Doctor grabbed Rory's hand and held the towel away from her face, turning her slightly and trying to ignore her hiss of pain. "Amy, you have to hold still now, it's very important."

The Doctor couldn't tell if Amy heard him or not, but he went ahead anyway. One drop slipped into the wound and fizzled away. And then, with a steady hand and a shaking body, the second drop went in seamlessly, and Amy's body relaxed. Rory's body sagged in relief.

"Give her an hour, she'll be awake. Give her two, she'll be good as new." The Doctor clapped a hand to Rory's back, and then disappearing under the control area again. With a lingering glance at Amy's peaceful form, Rory ventured out into the control room, glancing around for Lucas and Maya. He traced the edge of the console with his finger, making his way to the TARDIS stairs where the two kids sat.

"Do you mind if I sit?" Rory asked, giving them the warmest smile he could. Lucas and Maya glanced at each other, clearly sizing him up. They still weren't sure if this place was safe for them or if they had been kidnapped by some lunatic and his goons. But then, Maya shrugged and Lucas sighed and they simultaneously moved one space apart, letting Rory sandwich himself between the two of them. He cleared his throat.

"So, I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Rory." There was a moment of silence before Maya and Lucas each offered up their names, too. Not like Rory didn't already know, but he didn't think it was the best time to mention that.

"I'm guessing you guys have a lot of questions." He looked at both of them, smiling. Maya looked at Lucas, and then up at Rory.

"Um, what is this place?" Rory grinned, getting to his feet.

"Right, well, this-" he stretched his arms out "-is the TARDIS." He relished getting to be the one to do this, since the Doctor usually took charge. "It stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space." Maya and Lucas stared blankly back at him, and he nodded to himself, taking a breath.

"Right, forgot. Sorry, I've just been here for a while, and I'm - anyway, we're in a spaceship." Maya and Lucas almost simultaneously widened their eyes. "And not just any spaceship, a time machine," he exclaimed, embellishing each word.

"Um," Lucas started, "that woman with the orange hair, who pulled us out of… whatever that was. Is she okay?" Rory sat back down between them, smiling.

"She'll be fine. That was Amy, my wife. She'll be up in an hour. The Doctor gave her some, er, tree sap." Maya laughed at that, and Rory lit up, pleased at being able to do that.

"His name is the Doctor? A bit pretentious, don't you think?" Maya laughed, and just like that, the tension had eased a little. Rory had earned their trust. "But, um, Rory," she said, like she wasn't sure whether she could actually use his name, "what was that out there?"

Rory squinted up at the ceiling, not quite sure how to explain. "Well, time started to unravel." He decided to be upfront about it.

"Then how are we still here?" Lucas asked, eyebrows knit tightly in thought.

"Well, we stopped it. Or, last time. Actually, with you two here…" Rory snuck a fervent glance towards the control panel where the Doctor was working, "I'm not actually certain what's going to happen." Maya ran her fingers through her hair, shutting her eyes tightly.

"Sorry, sorry. This is just a lot to process. I don't even know why I believe you." Maya paused. "You're British!" She said suddenly, just realizing. Rory laughed, looking at Lucas and then back at Maya.

"Yes, I'm British." He paused. "So, you two, huh?" Maya looked at Lucas, smiling, almost shyly.

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess so."

"Rory?" The Doctor poked his head around the console. Rory hadn't even noticed him come in. "Amy's awake." Rory broke through Maya and Lucas' hands and stood up, turning on his heel to face them at second thought.

"You know, when Amy and I have kids… I'd be very happy if they turned out like you two." He turned around, but the smile wiped off of his face as the Doctor's words rang around in his head. " _Don't get attached," "always ends in tragedy," "she dies young," "he ends up alone."_ Rory remembered Lucas' cries as Maya's body hit the ground. But he shook his head decidedly, pulling himself out of the moment and went to see Amy.


	4. Chapter 4

Amy felt a little shaky when she first stood up, but she wanted to see Lucas and Maya. She wanted to make sure they were alright. And she definitely did _not_ want to see the Doctor. She knew he'd tell her some reason that Maya and Lucas could not stay and had to be erased and Amy would have to watch again. She knew that this must be some sort of paradox or temporal tipping point or whatever. She knew it, and she didn't care. But the Doctor would care, and Amy was going to have to avoid his concern as long as possible.

Maya and Lucas were sitting on the stairs, seemingly waiting for her. When she approached them, Maya stood up.

"Hey," she said, like she was unsure how to act around Amy. "Are, um… are you okay?" She was wringing her hands together, and Lucas was even looking a little teary-eyed. Amy bit back the wave of affection for the pair that swelling up in her.

"I'm fine," she said, warmly. "What about you two?" Maya just sort of looked towards Lucas, who was rubbing the back of his hand over his eyes dismissively, trying to hide the fact that he might actually be upset.

"Sorry, I'm not-" He let out a long breath. "It's just, I was really scared," he said, finally, voice wavering on the last word. Maya bit her lip and looked down. "Thank you." Lucas finished, standing up and looking her straight in the eyes so she knew he meant it. Amy wasn't quite sure how to respond, so she changed the subject.

"Well, I should introduce myself. I'm Amy." She leaned against the console, back at them as they each contributed their name, like Amy didn't already know. "You're together, too, aren't you?" She asked, raising an eyebrow, after they had finished with their introductions. Maya's eyes went wide, a warm blush creeping onto her cheeks, accompanied by a shy smile.

"Yeah. Pretty recently, actually." She scooted closer to Lucas, taking his hand in hers. Amy ignored the twinge in her heart.

"So, how'd you two meet?"

"Subway. Almost four years ago, now. We didn't start dating until the beginning of eighth grade, though. Zay started going to our school and things sorta just happened from there. Sorry, uh, Zay is Lucas' friend and he brought some chaos with him when he came. Hasn't changed much, really," Maya said with a light chuckle. "Anyway, things got a little complicated in freshman year. Riley, this girl we used to know, um... sorry." Maya trailed off, looking away from Amy.

Amy blinked, already confused. Lucas glanced at Maya, then back at Amy. "A lot's changed since then." Amy knew enough to recognize that this was a sore spot, so as delicately as she could, she shifted the conversation to something else.

"I trust Rory has explained all this to you?" She asked them, waving a hand around so they knew she meant the TARDIS. Maya was still looking away, so she turned her attention to Lucas, who all of a sudden was looking a little bit green. "Lucas, you okay?" She said, tentatively.

"Sorry, can I have-" His hand rushed to his mouth, prompting Amy to whirl around, grabbing a blue bucket and pouring its contents onto the metal floor and thrusting it into Lucas' hands.

With an angry hiss, the metal started melting as Lucas heaved into the bucket. "Sorry," Amy whispered to the TARDIS, stepping slightly away from the acid seeping into the floor. Maya clambered away from the stairs, pushing herself to her feet, eyes round as saucers. She stumbled backwards, and then crumbled to the floor, only barely caught by Rory. Amy looked back and forth at Lucas and Maya, both in states of physical distress. Just seconds ago, they were talking. Just seconds ago.

"Right, okay," the Doctor said, clapping his hands together and coming out from under the console, not seeming even remotely surprised by the scene in front of him. "Rory, carry Maya over to the med bay, Amy, stay with Lucas. Just - just hang on a minute." And then he followed Rory as Amy tentatively kneeled down next to Lucas, still heaving into the bucket and rubbed the heel of her hand in circles on his back.

In a moment, the Doctor was hurrying back, gingerly stepping around the puddle of acid and melted metal. "Here," he said, thrusting a vial out at Lucas, "drink this," he ordered. And then, after a moment, "if you can." Lucas looked up, and grabbed the vial, hands shaking and clear effort to bite back the bile evident upon his face but he hastily downed the purple liquid, swallowing it down.

He reached for the bucket immediately after, and then, slowly, leaned back, coughing loosely. The doctor reached into the breast pocket of his tweed jacket and handed him a napkin to wipe his mouth with. Amy looked at the Doctor, a question in her eyes, but the Doctor shot her a look as if to say, "later," and she looked back at Lucas. Suddenly he straightened, urgency in his voice.

"Maya." The Doctor pushed himself to his feet, and Amy helped Lucas to his.

"Right, okay. Amy, I'm going to need your help." Amy followed the Doctor through the hallway leading to the med bay, Lucas in tow behind them. "Right now, she's unconscious. Her body's rejecting the paradox you created when you brought her and Lucas in here. Time should be destroyed but it's in some kind of - freeze, I guess. Lucas only got sick, which is temporarily preventable, but like I said, time especially doesn't like Maya. I know there's a reason, I know it should be hitting me over the head, but I can't quite put my finger on it. That's not important right now, though. She reacted more severely than Lucas did because of this, and if she dies in here… the TARDIS will be ripped apart. We have to stop that from happening."  
"So what do we do?" She asked, not missing a beat.

"We wake her up. Give her something solid to latch on to. Once she's stabilized, we'll go from there. It's risky, though. Very risky. Unconscious, at least she's safe for the time being. As soon as we force her awake, she'll go into some sort of shock, and it's gonna be very touch and go. Best possible outcome, she'll stabilize long enough for us to - er, fix the problem. Worst possible outcome, she'll die almost immediately and there'll be nothing to help us then." Finally, the Doctor paused to breathe, looking at Amy.

"What do you mean she'll die?" Amy whirled her head around to face Lucas. She almost forgot he was there.

"Lucas-" she started.

"No. _No_. You can't - you can't wake her up, then, you can't take that chance. I don't care about anything else, it's _Maya_." His chest was heaving, eyes flaring up with determination.

"We don't have a choice." The Doctor said, not meeting his eyes. "It's her or the universe. I'm sorry."

"What do you mean, 'her or the universe'?" He asked, pale and shaky all of a sudden. Amy looked at her hands, wringing them together.

"We can't explain that right now, we don't have much time. Lucas… She'll die either way. At least this way, she has a _chance_. Trust us." Lucas took a few breaths and then nodded, uncertainly.

"Be careful with her."

The Doctor pushed open the door to the med bay. Maya was draped over the table, Rory standing next to her. "Alright," the Doctor whispered to Amy. "As soon as she's awake, start talking to her, reminding her of the most important things in her life, her family, friends, anything that might ground her." Amy raised her eyebrows at him.

"Why should _I_ do it? Wouldn't Lucas know better?" She argued.

"I don't exactly think he's in the best emotional state at the moment to have the whole universe resting on his shoulders." Amy looked over at him, standing frozen, staring at Maya, eyes wide and watery. "You read her file, you talked to her, you'll know enough." He gave her a little slap on the back and then went over to Maya, reaching his fingertips to her temple. "I'm going to create a doorway in her mind. That will give what you say, Amy, a chance to take. Ready?" Amy wasn't, but she nodded anyway.

He closed his eyes, head slightly swaying, and then Maya's eyes popped open, alert and panicked. She was hyperventilating - shallow, quick breaths. The Doctor yelled for Rory to hold her arms down. "Now, Amy!"

"Maya, look at me. Right at me." Maya barely managed to focus. "You can't pop off yet, right? Right, Maya? You've got so much here. You've got… um… Farkle. Right? Farkle? And your mom. Your mom and Shawn. You have Lucas. And your art. And that - that Zay kid you told me about." Her chest was still heaving up and down, eyebrows knit in distress. The Doctor gave her an urgent look. "Um… _Riley_. What about her? Your best friend, hm?" Maya squeezed her eyes shut.

"Riley," she muttered. "I'm sorry, Riley, I miss you, Riley." She mumbled her name a few more times, along with a few other unintelligible sounds before relaxing, her whole body going limp and loose. Then, her eyes fluttered open and Amy breathed a sigh of relief, running her hands through her hair. In an instant, Lucas was at her side, helping her up and off the table. She swayed on her feet a minute, stumbling against them, and then stood firmly again.

Lucas suddenly pulled her close to him, then, grabbing fistfuls of her hair, as if he couldn't hold her close enough, as if he had to make sure she was real and staying. The Doctor cleared his throat.

"Sorry to interrupt. But I'm going to need you to come with me." Without another word, the Doctor pulled Maya and Lucas apart, grabbing them each by the wrist. Amy and Rory followed closely behind. They went through the hallway, around the stairs and - though the Doctor quickly stopped to flip a lever - they made it to the doorway. The Doctor let go of Lucas' wrist, snapped his fingers, effectively opening the door and thrusted Maya outside, back into the woods they had just left, now surprisingly intact. Lucas ran after her; the Doctor didn't even need to guide him.

"Doctor, what are you doing?" Amy asked, screaming. He glared back at her, silencing her immediately and Amy's stomach swam with butterflies as she knew what he was about to do. Maya clung onto Lucas as the ground started to shake, looking back at Amy, Rory and the Doctor, betrayal and fear radiating off of her.

"I'm sorry." He said, and it seemed like he had been apologizing a lot that day, but he shut the door and pulled a lever and the three of them just stood there, realizing that Maya and Lucas - that version of them - were dead now. None of them knew what to say.


	5. Chapter 5

There they were again, under the bush, looking at Maya and Lucas. Amy was tired. More than anything else, she was _tired_. She wanted to go home, curl up with Rory, watch an old movie or two. She wanted Maya and Lucas to be safe. She wanted the universe to be alright. She wanted time to heal. She wanted to undo this whole day. But she wanted to do this, so she had to see it through. Besides, Amy doubted the Doctor was really in a position to do this alone.

They were supposed to be looking for differences in the timelines, and so far, the only different thing was their ending. Amy adjusted on the ground. She was still stiff from her time spent on the cot. Rory was growing more wary by the second and Amy could tell.

"Maya - Maya, _hey_." There was a note of seriousness in his voice, different than their playful conversation they had the other times. "They'll make their way back to us again. It's Riley. Riley can't be without you if she tried." Maya pushed his hands off of her shoulders.

"Really? Because it's been a month, Lucas, and there's still nothing. What if I… I don't know, what if this was too much, too soon? I mean, I love you - you know I love you - but we don't have Farkle or Smackle _or_ Riley around anymore. Things just aren't working with only three of us. You _know_ that. It feels like we're stuck, y'know? Like we can't get better or - or stronger without her." Lucas eyed her, warily. Amy shared a look with the Doctor. This was different. This was very different. The ground shook again, and Amy felt relatively unfazed. Would this happen forever? Stuck trying to fix the wound in time forever, in a vicious cycle? Watch them be happy, watch them die, repeat.

Then, Lucas' body contorted, twisted, spinning around and then falling to the ground, a red puddle spilling out from under him. Maya screamed, a terrible sound, falling to her knees, turning him over, clutching the fabric of his red sweatshirt - or maybe it was previously blue, Amy couldn't remember. Regardless, it was red now. She grabbed his face, held it in her hands, smearing it with blood and Amy looked at the Doctor once again for answers.

"It was a bullet. Escaped from a pocket of time," he said, eyebrows furrowed in heavy thought. "But, that means, things are getting _better_. He grabbed Rory by his collar and pulled him to his feet. "We have to go to the TARDIS, I think I've almost got it worked out." The ground shook violently again, hurling Amy backwards, into the clearing, almost at Lucas' bloody feet. Maya grabbed Lucas, pulling him to her easily, like a girl with a ragdoll. She was shouting at Amy, words made incoherent by heaving sobs. Amy wasn't about to make another mistake.

"Okay!" She shouted. "Okay, Maya, I'm leaving!" She was frantic, Maya seemed ready to attack her at any second. She backed away, starting to turn toward the TARDIS.

"Wait," she heard behind her, "how do you know my name?" Slowly, dreadfully slowly, Amy turned back around, facing Maya and racking her brain for a solid excuse, while pondering whether she should just run. "Wait," she said again. "I remember you." She looked at Amy, an epiphany seeming to flicker and die in her eyes. "Go," she said, stroking the side of Lucas' face. "Change it. Just - just bring him back. Please, Amy. Bring him back."

All Amy could do was nod, and then she was ushered back in the TARDIS, Rory running closely in tow. "Doctor," Amy said, "why did she remember?" They were practically running towards the controls. There was something they needed to see.

"I don't know! If I could just figure out why time didn't like her, then I could get to the bottom of this." Amy stopped in her tracks. Rory and the Doctor were fussing with monitor, oblivious. Of course - oh! - of _course_. It made sense, perfect sense, they had it all wrong!

"I know why. Wait a second, I know why!" She weaseled her way in between them. "Do you have records on them? From each timeline?" The Doctor nodded. Amy grabbed the keyboard, typing as quick as her fingers would let her, and pulling things up from the first timeline.

"I knew it!" She exclaimed, finally stumbling across what she was looking for. She was giddy, just giddy with happiness and excitement. She'd figured it out - best of all, she'd saved them! "First timeline," she pointed to the monitor, "they started dating on the subway at the end of seventh grade. Rory, do you remember what they told us the second time?" She asked, waiting for it to click.

"Yeah, actually. They got together after Lucas' friend came or something, right?"

"Right! And look!" She pulled up Maya's pictures -instagram, facebook, even her camera roll. "The photos of her and - and Riley start to disappear and there're more photos of her with Lucas! That's what they were talking about just now. About missing Riley. And this third time, they got together during their class skiing trip for the nature club. That was only a month or so ago. Right around the time when she said Riley had stopped talking to her." Rory tried to let this sink again, but shook his head, confused.

"Nope, still not getting it."

"It's all about Riley. Why has it been getting better each time? The first time, Maya died instantly, the second time, their reactions were delayed, and the third, Lucas died because of coincidence. A coincidental bullet. Maya said they were stuck without Riley. Like they couldn't, I don't know, they couldn't grow. They need her, and they lost her because-" Amy did some more typing "there was a situation with Riley and Lucas. She liked him, too! But when he ended up with Maya, Riley didn't know how react" - Amy was only reading from the screen then - "and the group fell apart. Doctor," she said, finally getting to the big punchline, "time doesn't hate them. It loves them. And it wants them to be ready."


	6. Chapter 6

Amy spun the monitor towards her, fingers flying across the keyboard. Behind her, the Doctor and Rory exchanged a wary glance. "Amy are you sure about this? Because the consequences if we get this wrong would be massive." Amy didn't even blink.

"Doctor, latch us on to the next timeline?" She heard a resigned sigh as the Doctor flipped the lever. But there was a newfound energy bouncing in his step, and the TARDIS lurched sideways, but Amy held on tight. As soon as the TARDIS was steady she went back to work, stopped suddenly, and then let out a big cheer.

"This is it! This is the right one! I'm sure of it!" Then before the Doctor could even call out her name, she was running out the door. There were Lucas and Maya standing in the clearing. Anxiously, Amy listened. She waited.

"What? Why're you looking at me like that, huckleberry?" Maya's laugh echoed, tinkling through the leaves and branches. Amy smiled as the Doctor and Rory scampered their way up to her.

"It's just - I can't believe it took me until now to realize this, is all. Think about how much better off we'd have been if I'd known it was you at the ski lodge. Or in Texas." Maya shifted on her feet, tilting her head slightly downwards. Then she looked up at him, a warm smile spreading across her face.

"Maybe," she said, sliding under his arm. "But maybe not. C'mon Ranger Rick, I've gotta go meet Riley." Amy watched as Maya and Lucas disappeared through the trees, and then, wiping the dirt off her jeans, she turned to the Doctor and Rory.

"See?" She said. "No ground-shaking, no time unraveling." She breathed, letting the tension in her shoulders drop, finally, after the long day she had had. "They're ready now."


	7. Chapter 7

It had been such a long time, but Amy still loved the charm of Central Park. She was sitting on a bench with a journal, observing the people wandering around, with a girlfriend or a dog, or their families. She spied a girl, a little girl, looking around. Amy wrote -

" _girl with the blue eyes"_

Amy tried to catch her gaze, but the girl looked away. She looked lost. Amy frowned, pushing herself off the bench with a grunt. Her breathing was already laboured from that small effort. Sometimes she missed being young and vibrant and always ready to run. But it had been almost sixty years since she had traveled on the TARDIS. She had long since made her peace.

"Hi, honey? Are you lost?" The blonde girl looked up, probably no more than seven years old. She nodded. "I'm Amy. Can you tell me your name?" The girl looked unsure, taking a deep breath.

"I'm Maya. I'm not actually lost. I'm running away." Amy knit her eyebrows together, looking into Maya's eyes. Maya was a common way, there was no way this was her.

"Maya what?"

"Maya Penelope Hart?"


	8. Chapter 8

About twenty minutes later, Maya had led her down the block, in a circle, and then two blocks farther. She insisted she knew where she was going and that she didn't need Amy's help. But Amy wasn't going to leave her. Maya's footsteps were slow and unsteady. She stopped suddenly, and without warning in front of a tall apartment building.

"This is it. This is my apartment," she said, lisping her s's. Amy looked up too. Thinking back to all those years ago, looking at Maya's file, she knew this wasn't what her home looked like. It did look familiar, though. But before Amy could even think about where they were, Maya was already climbing up the fire escape of the building. Amy almost stopped her. She almost called after her. And then she remembered.

This was Riley's apartment. This was the day they met. Amy squeezed her eyes shut and turned around, smiling, starting the walk back home to Rory and Anthony, her family. Behind her, Maya paused at a window on the fourth floor, as if struck by something odd, and looked in.


End file.
